


You Don't Understand

by ScilesMcCallinski



Category: Glee, The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Barry Allen feels guilty, Gen, I'm Bad At Tagging, Sebastian Smythe is Barry Allen | The Flash, also some, and you pretty much know how the rest of the story goes, anyway, because I can't leave my poor Barry being sad for long, for obvious reasons, his friends find out he's sebastian smythe, let's just say there will be, mentions of Hunter Clarington, my obsession for both glee and the flash made this happen, yes it is one of these stories
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2018-05-25
Packaged: 2019-04-08 12:07:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14105028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScilesMcCallinski/pseuds/ScilesMcCallinski
Summary: Barry was never planning on telling his friends about his past. Or more specifically, the years he spent at Dalton Academy as Sebastian Smythe. He never wanted them to find out about the things he did, what he was like and just any of it in general. But his luck has never exactly been the best and clearly, the universe has other ideas. Or maybe he should just blame Felicity's love for Glee Clubs and uncovering secrets about her friends.





	1. She Found The Videos

Barry's day was going okay. It was just the usual stuff; get up, catch a few criminals, grab some coffee, head to work and then later meet his friends at S.T.A.R Labs, which is where he currently is. He was in the middle of a conversation with Iris, giving her the smallest of details about the most recent case they're working on, hoping that it's enough to satisfy her and get her to stop asking about it but also not enough to get him fired. And then Felicity, who's currently staying in Central City for the weekend along with Oliver and Thea, asks if she can watch a video on the main computers on the walls.

Barry, Cisco, and Caitlin all say it's fine while Harry immediately says no and is then shushed by Cisco. Felicity grins and turns back to the computers. Barry doesn't think anything of it at first, expecting to hear some random video that he's probably watched a million times because of Felicity and so he goes back to his conversation with Iris. 

It's only when he hears the familiar tune of Whistle playing that Barry begins to worry a little. He knows there is absolutely no way that Felicity could possibly have found the old videos of the Warblers performing. He's never known her to be interested in things like high school glee clubs. 

"What are you watching anyway?" Cisco asks between a mouthful of a pot noodle as he glances from Felicity to the big screens. 

"Oh, it's this really amazing glee club I found," Felicity says, the excitement clear in her voice. Barry freezes and waits, still having a tiny piece of hope that she isn't talking about the Warblers. "I'm pretty sure they're called the Warblers."

And that's all Barry needs to hear for his stomach to twist. He's just glad Felicity paused the video to answer Cisco, now he's hoping she'll never unpause it.

"I've watched one or two of their performances and I love them. Although I will admit, it's extremely creepy that the main singer looks exactly like my ex. You know the one I'm talking about, I think I mentioned him before. Cooper Seldon? Tried to kill me and my mom and... I think pretty much the entire internet." 

Barry isn't even paying attention to what Iris or Felicity is saying at this point, heart pounding in his chest. Maybe he can just stop Felicity from watching the rest of the video. Clearly, she hasn't seen any of the performances that he was in and he'd like to keep it that way.

"Hey, Felicity," he waits until she looks over at him, eyebrows raised and eyes flickering with curiosity. "Do you maybe wanna... come get some coffee with me?" 

Felicity's forehead creases and she points at the cup of freshly made coffee sitting on the desk. "But I already have some." 

Barry pauses before nodding and forcing a grin, "Oh yeah, so you do. Well, uh-" 

"Hey, are you okay?" Caitlin asks him, watching him with concerned eyes. He nods but she presses on, "Are you not feeling well? You're not looking so good. Do you need me to run some tests, make sure you're o-" 

"I'm fine," Barry cuts her off. He sends her a small smile and adds, "Thank you, though." 

Caitlin nods, accepting his answer but clearly not believing him, along with everyone else in the room, all of them sending him worried glances. He clenches his teeth and tells himself that it's okay, even as Felicity presses play on the video once more and Hunter Clarington's voice comes through the speakers. 

Barely twenty seconds into the video, Thea speaks up, eyebrows drawing together as she asks, "Felicity, can you go back a second?" 

And that's when Barry knows he's screwed. He waits for her to say it, to point out what he was hoping no one who's actually paying attention to the video would notice. He doesn't even really care that he just abruptly stopped talking to Iris in the middle of a sentence. 

A few seconds go by as Felicity looks at Thea, clearly unsure of if she can unpause it yet while Thea examines the screen with narrowed eyes. She then glances at Barry, catching his eyes and it must be written all over his face how worried he is because her eyes widen and she quickly turns back to Felicity, shaking her head. 

"Never mind, I thought I saw someone I knew but it wasn't them." She's obviously lying but apparently, Barry is the only one who picks up on it.

Felicity shrugs and unpauses the video, smile returning to her lips as Hunter finishes the chorus and the Warblers clap, all whistling the tune of the song.

As the song goes on, Barry's stomach continues to twist, a lump rising in his throat. He doesn't even bother to try and pretend that he's interested in finishing his conversation with Iris, eyes practically glued to the screens as he waits for what now seems to be inevitable. 

And there it is. He was barely on the screen for a second but it was enough. He's pretty sure everyone's eyes widen as Felicity scrambles to pause the video and everyone else turns to him, confusion and shock evident on their faces. Cisco and Thea even look a little bit impressed. 

"Barry," Cisco starts, pointing at the screens behind him, "Either you were secretly in a high school glee club, which makes absolutely zero sense-" Barry's eyebrows furrow, "-or we have somehow found a video of you from another earth." 

Barry's eyes widen and he nods a little too frantically, eager to accept this excuse that Cisco has just handed to him. "Yeah, that's definitely it," he says while trying to be as convincing as possible. "I mean, come on, guys," he fakes a chuckle as he gestures at the screens, "there's no way I could ever dance like that, I'd probably fall over." 

There's a murmur of agreement and Barry feels like he should be slightly offended that his friends don't think he can dance but he's too busy being relieved that he didn't just have to explain to them about his past at Dalton Academy. That would have just been awkward and it would definitely have brought back a lot of memories that already keep Barry up at night. He doesn't need his closest friends finding out about the things he did back then. 

"Isn't it just kinda freaky that Barry from another earth was in a glee club with a guy who looks exactly like my ex?" Felicity asks, laughing at the weirdness of the situation. Barry agrees with her, hoping that'll be the end of the discussion and that maybe, just maybe, she won't watch any of the other videos.

He might have a reasonable enough excuse now but that doesn't stop him from wanting to speed out of here at just the thought of them seeing him in another video. Especially with how cocky he was back then, that smirk just plastered on his face nearly all of the time. He hates it.

Thankfully, no one seems to question it any further, willing to believe that it's just a Barry from another earth. Except, Cisco and Felicity seem to be the only ones who _actually_ believe it. Iris, Caitlin, and Thea all keep sending him suspicious glances, seemingly not buying the Barry-from-another-earth thing. 

Iris has the most reason to be suspicious, after all, she knows that when Barry was starting high school, he decided to go live with his uncle in Ohio for a few years. Which means that she has every reason to believe that the person in that video is indeed Barry.

Thea's reason is probably having seen the worry all over Barry's face when she looked at him. That, and the way that he probably still looks like he's about to have a small meltdown and speed out of here before anyone notices. 

And Caitlin's reason may not be enough for her to believe that it is actually Barry on that stage and not his doppelganger, but it's certainly enough for her to watch his every move with suspicion. She knows he can sing, thanks to that night that she - very drunkenly - decided it would be a good idea for them to do karaoke. 

Barry's just glad that none of them have said anything yet. 

The video ends rather quickly, Barry only appearing once more on screen. He's relieved once it's finished but that quickly fades as he watches Felicity move to click on another video. One that Barry - or Sebastian in this case - was actually the main vocalist in. He stays quiet, even as he hears and sees himself say, "Thank you. Just a reminder to please make a donation to one of our charity baskets. We're set up all around the auditorium, just look for the Dalton blazer. Please, give what you can."

"Charity?" Cisco looks at Barry, a teasing smirk on his lips. "Now that sounds a lot like the Barry we know." 

Barry just rolls his eyes and continue to force a grin, not letting how he really feels show. Cisco turns back to the screen just as the music starts up and Barry wishes it hadn't been this video that Felicity picked. It's got nothing to do with the song or him being the main focus, it's being reminded of why they were donating to that charity at all. It makes him disgusted with himself just remembering it, which is why he tries not to. 

He forces himself to focus on the video, pretending to be just as interested in it as his friends seem to be. He has to admit, he can't help but smile a little when they cheer at "Sebastian" dancing. And when the video ends, he's full-on grinning. He may not like remembering a lot of what he did back then, but seeing his friends so amused by the video and laughing, he can't not join in. 

"Damn, Barry," Iris and Cisco say at exactly the same time, both turning to face him. Barry glances between them, waiting to see which one will decide who speaks first. Cisco beats Iris to it as he says, "You have an amazing voice. And I know that ain't just your doppelganger because Caitlin and Iris both told me that you can sing." 

Barry looks at them both, a little exasperated but mostly amused as they both seem to feign innocence and he shakes his head at them. However, he doesn't actually get the chance to say anything. 

"Oh, I think I just found a video of the other Barry singing a duet," Felicity says, sounding way more excited than Barry wants her to. If it's the duet he thinks it is - and it has to be considering it's the only one he did while at Dalton - then he's screwed. They may not know it's him but it's still not going to be fun to watch. "They're singing Smooth Criminal! Can this get any more perfect?" 

Barry internally groans as everyone eagerly turns their eyes to the screen. As soon as he appears on the screen, he gets a very strong urge to leave. And yes, he felt that about the other two videos. But this one's different. This one shows a side of him that he tried to forget ever even existed. 

_"Hey, Andrew Mccarthy. Don't know if you heard but Blaine may lose an eye. The same Blaine who was just besties with most of you not four months ago."_

It's been years since Barry's heard Santana's voice, and honestly, he would have been glad if he never heard it again in his life. He just wishes that the people filming their duet hadn't decided to film that part as well, because now his friends are watching the video in confusion, having no idea what's going on.

Cisco nearly chokes on his noodles when "Sebastian" tells Santana that it's a bummer about Blaine because he was pretty but that the slushy wasn't meant for him. "Damn, this guy is cold. He just doesn't care." Barry tries not to let the words sting, knowing they weren't technically aimed at him. 

Cisco nearly chokes once again. "She questioned his honour? Oh no! And now he's demanding satisfaction in warbler tradition? How horrible! Trial by duet! " He's obviously joking and that somehow makes Barry feel a little bit better about the whole thing, knowing that Cisco finds at least some humour in it. 

As the song starts, Cisco stays quiet, along with everyone else, who were just as amused by "Sebastian" and Cisco's comments. It isn't until the very end that any of them even try to speak, eyes glued to the screen and enjoying the tension of the entire duet. And when "Sebastian" throws the slushy at Santana, there's a loud chorus of "Ooh!" along with a gasp or two. 

"Okay, first of all," Barry isn't even surprised that Cisco is the first to speak, his eyes wide as he slowly turns in his seat, noodles sitting in his lap and being completely ignored, "That. Was. Awesome." Barry can't help the grin that spreads across his face, arms folded across his chest. "Secondly, the sexual tension in that room was too much for me to handle, and honestly, a little weird to see."

Barry is a lot less willing to agree to that. He can actually confirm that there was absolutely no sexual tension between himself and Santana at any point. Not even during that duet. Of course, he can't just tell Cisco that. So, he has to nod in forced agreement and listen as Cisco continues to the part that Barry has been dreading. 

"And what was with the whole slushy thing? Don't get me wrong, it was hilarious. But why exactly did he throw a slushy at her? And apparently at some guy called Blaine?" 

They're obviously rhetorical questions, despite Barry having the answer to pretty much all of them. Not that that excuses what he did. Even if Cisco found it hilarious, that doesn't make Barry feel any less guilty about it. But again, that's not something he can let show. 

"I have no idea but other me seems like a bit of a dick," Barry says. 

Cisco shrugs, only seeming to half agree with him as he spins around to face Felicity. Barry shifts his gaze and catches not only Thea watching him, but Caitlin and Iris as well. He knows why. He can take a guess at exactly what they must be thinking right now. And he still says nothing about it.

He only looks up again when he hears the all too familiar sound of the start to I Want You Back and he suddenly starts regretting ever going to Dalton Academy and joining their Glee Club. He's forced to silently suffer throughout the entire thing, eyes darting from one of his friends to the other, watching their reactions. Let's just say, his blatant attempts to flirt with Blaine while dancing and singing seems to amuse them. 

When it's over, the room goes quiet for a second, no one quite sure what to say. And then, Thea just can't resist, "Is it just me or did that entire video give off a very gay vibe?"

Every single one of them agrees and Barry seriously wishes he were somewhere else right now. 

"Alright, I think that's about all the weirdness I can take today," Barry says, forcing a chuckle as he slowly moves backwards, heading for the exit. He's not oblivious to the confused looks all of his friends send him, he just chooses to ignore them. He needs to get out here. 

And he does. He doesn't give any of his friends the chance to ask him what's wrong or if he's okay, worried that if he does, he might end up telling the truth. That's not something he wants to do. 

He leaves the room and walks down the corridor, intending to leave the building and maybe head back to the CCPD, see if he can get some more work done. Right now, he just wants - needs, a distraction. Something to take his mind off of those videos and any thoughts or memories of Dalton Academy. Work is as good a distraction as any.


	2. You're Sebastian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry can't hide his secret for very long.

After an hour of running tests on some evidence from the recent crime scene and waiting for the results to come back, Barry is finally relaxed, any thoughts of Dalton or the Warblers or those stupid videos completely out of his mind. He's in the middle of examining what appears to be a piece of fabric that's had chemicals spilled on it when he hears a knock on the open door. 

He looks up and smiles when he sees Iris walking over to him. She smiles back, a strange look in her eyes that Barry doesn't quite understand but doesn't question either. He just leans back in his chair as Iris pushes herself up to sit on the desk. 

"You ran out of the labs pretty quickly," she comments, pretending to act casual about it. 

Barry gets the feeling that there's something she wants to say, something she wants to ask. But he plays along with her act and nods, "Yeah, sorry 'bout that. I was starting to get a bit..." He gestures at himself, not able to find the right word to explain it, "Y'know, the whole speed thing. If I stand around for too long I start to feel light-headed and like my entire body is just vibrating." 

Iris cocks her head, her eyes narrowing a little. "Yeah, you've mentioned that before." She pauses as if she's hesitating, whatever it is she wants to say sitting on the tip of her tongue. "Barry, I talked to my dad." 

Barry raises his eyebrows uncertainly, "Okay?" 

She sighs and rolls her eyes. "I asked him about the high school you went to?" Barry's body instantly tenses, already knowing where this is going. "He told me everything, Barr. He thought I already knew." 

Barry immediately starts rambling, a mix between an apology for not telling her everything sooner and an explanation. He doesn't get very far with it though, barely getting to finish saying, "I'm so sorry, Iris. I know I should have told you. It's not that I didn't trust you or anything, I do, I just made a lot of mistakes when I went to Dalton and I didn't want you to find out," before being cut off by Iris as she moves her hands to his shoulders. 

"Hey, it's okay," she assures him, a soft smile on her lips. "I get it. I'm not mad that you didn't tell me." 

"You... You're not?" Barry asks cautiously, not entirely believing her. She chuckles and shakes her head and Barry slumps in the chair with relief. "Oh thank god." 

Her smile turns into a smirk and she says, "Although, I do want to know why you lied to us back at S.T.A.R Labs. It's not that big of a deal that you were in a glee club." 

Barry looks away from her. He doesn't want to explain why he felt like he needed to keep it a secret, he doesn't want to see the look in her eyes when she realises how much of a horrible person he used to be. Or at least, pretended to be. 

"It's complicated." He figures that's enough to keep her from asking any more about it right now. 

Iris just raises an eyebrow, clearly not accepting his answer. He sighs and runs a hand through his hair, still hoping she might just drop it. But judging by the glint in her eyes, that isn't going to happen. 

"Barry, whatever it is..." She seems to be trying to find the right words, "It's not gonna change anything. I promise. And..." She hesitates. 

Barry tenses for the second time. "Iris?" He doesn't like the edge to her voice, the one that tells him there's something she's not saying. "What is it?"

She sighs and blurts out, "When I left S.T.A.R Labs, Felicity and Cisco were trying to figure out how we managed to find videos from another earth." He immediately sees where this is going and groans, head falling back onto the top of the chair. "It's only a matter of time before they realise that it's actually... well, you."

Barry's mind goes into overdrive, trying to come up with a way that he could possibly get out of this situation. It barely takes a second for him to remember and he lifts his head, eyes wide as he grins. "They're not going to. Realise it's me, I mean," he adds when Iris' brows furrow in confusion. "When I went to Dalton, I didn't go by my real name. I used a fake one - Sebastian Smythe. That's the name that'll they'll find. They won't know it's really me." 

Iris doesn't look convinced, clearly doubting Barry's optimism. "I don't know, Barr. I'm just saying that maybe you should tell them. Before they find out for themselves." 

Barry has to pause for a second to actually consider what she's saying. He should tell them. There's no reason to lie to them. He made a lot of mistakes but he's not that same person anymore. He wasn't even that person when he went to Dalton, he was just pretending to be. Not that that makes him feel any less guilty about it. 

"I don't think I can, Iris," he admits quietly. 

She may have found out that Barry went to Dalton Academy and was in the glee club there, but she doesn't know everything else. Joe doesn't even know the rest so there's no way he could have told her. 

"Why not?" She asks, keeping her voice gentle and letting Barry know that it's okay for him to talk to her. "What happened there that was so bad?" 

He can't tell her. He can't even bring himself to admit it out loud to himself, never mind to the girl he grew up with and considers family. She'd hate him, and so would his friends. He can't bear the thought of Cisco and Caitlin, even Thea, Harry, Oliver, any of them, finding out what he did and being just as disgusted with him as he is with himself. 

"I just can't," he finally says, shaking his head as he looks up at Iris, hoping she understands.  

She nods and it's obvious she's a little disappointed that he won't confide in her but she mostly seems to be glad that he didn't just try and deny it. 

"Okay," she says and sends Barry a smile which he gratefully returns. She hops off the desk and pulls Barry into a hug, practically whispering in his ear, "Just know that whatever happened, you're not going to lose me. Or Cisco and Caitlin. We're your friends - your family." 

Barry nods and hugs her a little too tightly before pulling back and smiling once more as she waves and heads out of the lab. He slumps down in the chair even more than before and runs his hands over his face as he exhales deeply. 

It takes a few minutes - more like ten - for Barry to finally decide that he should go back to S.T.A.R Labs. After all, he did leave rather abruptly earlier and he doesn't want them to think there' something wrong. Even though there is. 

He doesn't bother to walk there, enjoying the feeling of the speed force and his entire body tingling with electricity as he runs to S.T.A.R Labs. He comes to a stop in the cortex, eyes a little wide and heart pounding but feeling a lot better than when he was here earlier. 

"God damn it, Barry!" Cisco yells, throwing his hands up as papers fly up around him. He turns to face the speedster, his exasperation only lasting for a second before turning to amusement. "Or should I call you Sebastian?"

Barry's heart jumps and he can _feel_ the blood draining from his face. "Wh... What?" Of course his first response is to act like he has no idea what Cisco's talking about. Because that obviously works out so well. 

Cisco seems to agree and rolls his eyes, a bright grin spreading across his face as he pushes one of the keys on the computer without even looking at it and suddenly a bunch of videos, photos, and information on "Sebastian Smythe" appears on the screens. 

Barry glances from them to Cisco, mouth opening and closing in disbelief as he tries to string together a coherent sentence. He just can't believe that Cisco actually managed to work out that "Sebastian" isn't just Barry's doppelganger from another earth. Or maybe he hasn't... 

"Huh, that's weird. I wonder why he goes by a different name," Barry comments, forcing himself to seem as casual as possible. 

Cisco just sits there for a second, eyes narrowing as he stares at Barry and looks personally insulted. "You're kidding right?" He finally asks. He doesn't really give Barry a chance to answer his obviously rhetorical question as he stands up, chuckling slightly, "Barry, I know that isn't you from another earth. All of that-" he gestures at the screens with one hand, not even bothering to look, "-wouldn't exist if that were the case. At least not on this earth. And I've recently discovered that doppelgangers don't always look identical. There's almost always some physical difference."

Barry has an idea as to where this might be going but he's also not entirely sure. His forehead furrows even more if possible as he looks at Cisco. "Okay, so, are you saying there was nothing different about this other me?" He asks, still keeping up the pretense that he is not Sebastian Smythe, much to Cisco's exasperation. "Because," he fakes a chuckle and turns his eyes to the screens, "I can see a few differences."

"No, you can't," Cisco says firmly, crossing his arms over his chest. Barry raises an eyebrow at him and he continues, "There is not one difference between you and him. Other than you obviously being a bit older now." Barry pretends to look mildly offended but Cisco ignores him. "You look exactly the same. You have the same amount of freckles and they are all in exactly the same place. Your eyes are the same shade of brown. Your smile? Exactly the same! Even your hands are the same! Not one tiny detail is different!"

Barry doesn't even know how to respond to that. Not because Cisco pretty much just proved that Barry and Sebastian are the same person, but because Cisco is apparently way more observant than he thought. He always knew that Cisco picked up on little things that other people usually miss, but this is different. 

"What?" Cisco asks after a few seconds pass and Barry just continues to stare at him. "Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face? Did Thea draw something on me while I was asleep again?" He groans and moves to go check.

Barry snaps back to reality and shakes his head, grinning, "No, your face is fine. I mean, your face is great. I just meant that-" Barry somehow shuts himself up before he begins rambling and embarrassing himself, flushing slightly at Cisco's raised eyebrows and amused grin. "I just didn't realise that you noticed that kind of stuff." 

Cisco seems momentarily confused before realising what exactly Barry is talking about. He just shrugs, still grinning as he says, "I'm just very observant. You know that." 

Barry nods but he's not entirely convinced that Cisco being observant is all there is to it. Still, he drops it, focusing on the more important and worrying subject as Cisco moves back to the computers, tapping away. One of the videos then starts playing - Of course, it just had to be the one from Michael Jackson week, in that stupid underground parking lot. How he even found that, Barry doesn't know. He's not even entirely sure who was filming it but he really wished they hadn't. 

Cisco skips the video forward slightly, closer to the end and Barry already knows what he's looking for. As soon as he finds it, he asks, "Is this why you lied earlier? Because of what happened to that guy?" 

" _Because of what happened to that guy_?" Barry repeats Cisco, not even able to look at the screens without his stomach twisting with disgust and guilt. "Cisco, I nearly blinded him. He had to have surgery." 

"Barry," Cisco straightens up, eyebrows furrowing with confusion as he looks over at him, "You didn't mean to hit that guy with it. You were clearly aiming for the guy behind him, and had the one who got hit not jumped in front, you would have just ruined his clothes. It wasn't your fault that that guy decided to try and be a hero."

"No, you don't understand." Barry sighs and runs a hand through his hair. He looks away from Cisco and a humourless laugh escapes his throat. "You don't know about the things I did. You don't understand." 

"You're right," Cisco agrees. "I don't know what happened, I don't know what you did or didn't do. And I don't fully understand the situation. But if there's one thing that I do know, it's you, Barry. You're not some heartless dick that tried to blind that guy on purpose. You weren't even intending to hurt anyone, that guy just got in the way."

Barry shakes his head and he wants to argue, wants to tell Cisco that he's wrong. But that would also mean telling him about the other things he did, like being one of the reasons Dave Karofsky tried to commit suicide, editing fake pictures of Finn and threatening to post them, the countless times he hurt someone simply to keep up his act. He doesn't deserve to have Cisco telling him that he didn't mean to hurt anyone, or that he needs to stop blaming himself. It was all his fault. 

He doesn't tell Cisco any of it. He just nods slightly and avoids looking him in the eyes, which only seems to worry him. 

"Dude, come on," Cisco practically begs him as he moves forward the smallest bit. "Let's not focus on the bad parts, alright? Let's talk about how awesome your dance skills are. And your voice!" Cisco chuckles, a bright grin on his lips as he looks at Barry with amazement and slight awe. "You are the best singer I've ever heard. Not including myself, of course." 

Barry can't help but smiles at that as he shakes his head. The look on Cisco's face is definitely worth it, even when he spins in the chair to face the computers and pulls up a different video, the one of the Warblers performing Live While We're Young. Before playing it, however, Cisco turns back to Barry. 

"I'm just curious," he starts and Barry momentarily panics, not knowing where this is going, "the guy that Felicity said looks exactly like her ex? Does that mean that he's-" 

"That he's actually her ex?" Barry finishes for him, relaxing a little, and Cisco nods. "I have absolutely no idea. I knew him as Hunter Clarington but considering I went by a different name while I was there as well, it's possible that it is him." 

Cisco nods as he takes in this information, probably storing it away for later so he can more research. And then his grin is back and he's pressing play on the video, ignoring Barry when he groans.

It's barely ten seconds in when Cisco groans as well, but for a completely different reason. "That's it, I'm officially in love with you." Barry chuckles and ducks his head, mainly to hide the flush of heat that he just knows is spreading across his face. But Cisco isn't done. "I mean it. Anyone who can sing and dance like that is immediately attractive to me."

"Oh really?" Barry asks as he looks at him and he wasn't intending it to sound the way it does when it leaves his mouth but he's not all that bothered by it. 

Cisco just smirks at him and says, "Well, not _anyone_."

Barry's face immediately heats up again and he silently curses Cisco for being so... him. Thankfully, at that exact moment, one of their alarms starts up, signaling that it's time for them to put on their suits and go stop whatever crime is happening this time. Cisco quickly pauses the video and Barry speeds out of the chair and into his suit before Cisco even has time to blink. 

"Alright, where are we going and what are we stopping?" 

Within seconds, Cisco is in leader mode, as Barry likes to call it. He has another name for it but it isn't exactly one he can say out loud so he's sticking with leader mode. Cisco checks the monitor and groans, earning raised eyebrows from Barry as he waits to be filled in. 

"A clothing store robbery and possible hostage situation." Barry groans as well and Cisco nods in agreement. "I know, buddy. It sucks. But we gotta save the people, their money, and their soon-to-be clothes." With that, he opens a breach and disappears through it. 

Barry doesn't wait for it to close as he speeds through it, happier to take a shortcut than run all the way through the city. He comes to a stop beside Cisco, who somehow managed to put on his gloves and glasses in the short time it took Barry to join him. 

It doesn't take long for them to sort the situation; Barry quickly catches the two guys, tying them up and then Cisco opens another breach, this time to the CCPD, and sends them through. It's only when Barry turns back to the people the robbers were attempting to hold hostage that he finally notices what he hadn't when he first zoomed in.

For not the first time today, the blood drains from his face as he looks at Blaine Anderson, Kurt Hummell, Rachel Berry, Quinn Fabray and Santana Lopez. This can't be happening, on today of all days, after two of his closest friends found out about his years at Dalton Academy, five people from his past that despised him just happen to show up in Central City? The universe is obviously working against him. 

"Oh my god, thank you so much," Blaine says to him and Cisco, eyes darting between them. Barry has never been more thankful for his suit and mask than he is right now. "I can't believe those guys were actually trying to hold us hostage." 

Barry forces a nervous chuckle and avoids looking directly at any of them, worried that they'll somehow be able to tell it's him. "It's no problem, it's just what we do. But we should go. Uh... you guys... be careful. And try not to nearly get robbed again." 

"Yeah, don't want to have save your asses again," Cisco jokes, a nervous edge to his voice as he turns his head slightly to glance at Barry, having recognised one or two of them due to the videos. Blaine and Rachel actually laugh while Kurt, Quinn, and Santana look like they would rather be anywhere else right now. Good to know that not much has changed then. "Well, more like your money and your fashion."

"Alright, we should be going," Barry quickly interjects before Cisco can strike up a conversation with Blaine and make this situation even more of a nightmare. "Things to do, people to help, crimes to stop. The usual... superhero stuff." 

Cisco eyes him, eyebrows furrowing. "You're babbling again. I blame Felicity, it always gets worse when she visits."

Barry glares at him, partly for using Felicity's real name while out and suited up, knowing how annoyed she gets when they do that. But also because instead of opening a breach and getting them the hell away from here as fast possible, Cisco's commenting on Barry's awkwardness.

"I feel like we're intruding on a lovers quarrel," Sanatana says, her usual snarkiness present in her voice as she looks at the two of them. 

Barry has to grit his teeth, grateful that his suit and mask stops them from seeing the heat creeping up his neck at her comment. He decides that if Cisco isn't going to open a breach, then they're just going to have to get back to S.T.A.R Labs his way. 

"We really need to go now, but as I said, be careful. Central City isn't exactly the safest place to be right now." He then grabs Cisco's arm, glances once more at the people he was trying so hard to forget about, and speeds away, pulling Cisco with him. 

They're back in the cortex in no time. Barry immediately pulls his mask off while Cisco leans against the desk to try and get his breath back, having been caught off guard by Barry abruptly speeding them away. 

Barry begins pacing back and forth in front of Cisco, mask clenched tightly in his left hand as he runs the other through his hair, muttering to himself. "Oh god, I am so screwed. Why did they have to be here? Especially today?" He groans and tugs a little too hard on his hair, wincing at the pain but not stopping. 

"Alright, stop and calm down for just two minutes," Cisco says as pulls his glasses off and sits them on the desk before pushing away from it. "This might not be a bad thing." 

Barry stops and stares at him incredulously, wondering how this could possibly be anything other than bad. 

"You don't necessarily need to talk to them or see them," Cisco points out. "And what are the chances that you even run into them again anyway?" 

He does have a point. It's not entirely likely that Barry will see them again. Maybe he can just avoid them for however long they're here. He just hopes they aren't planning on staying long. 

He nods and Cisco sighs as he drops into the chair and leans his head back. Barry really does hope he's right because he doesn't want to ever have to talk to anyone from his years at Dalton ever again, or even come face to face with them. When he's not wearing his suit and mask, of course. Hopefully, he won't have to save them again either. He'll be happy if he never has any sort of interaction with any of them ever again in his entire life.


	3. Karaoke Night - Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity suggests Karaoke Night. It does not go well.

"Felicity, no, I am not singing," Barry says with a grin as he shakes his head, a Killer Frost in his hand. "I don't care if it's the only way to prove I wasn't secretly in a glee club in high school. I'm not doing it." 

He receives multiple 'boo's' from Felicity, Thea, and Cisco, while Caitlin just smiles. Barry raises his eyebrows at Cisco, sending him an exasperated look. He promised to keep what he knows a secret, and so far, he's been doing okay. But encouraging Felicity to try and prove that Barry is or isn't the guy she saw in the videos is not a good idea. She's smart, she'll figure it out. 

Cisco just shrugs, a sly smile on his lips. 

"You're no fun," Thea says before taking a sip of her own coffee. 

Barry rolls his eyes and turns in his seat to look over at the counter. "Hey, Iris?" She looks over at him as she passes a customer their order. "Back me up on this." 

Iris leans her hands on the counter, head tilting slightly as she pretends to think it over. "Actually, Barr... I haven't heard you sing in years. I think you should do it." 

"Iris!" Barry stares at her, for the most part feigning shock and betrayal. "You're supposed to be on my side, not theirs!" 

She just shrugs, smirking as she turns back to continue working. 

"Oh, you know what we should do?" Felicity asks but doesn't give any of them a chance to answer. "Karaoke night!"

There's an immediate cheer from three out of five of them, Barry and Caitlin both saying no. 

"Cait, come on!" Cisco pleads, grabbing onto her arm and attempting to pull out the puppy-dog eyes. "It would be great! We could all relax, have some fun, sing a few songs. What reason is there to say no?" 

Caitlin shakes her head, glancing at Barry. They both remember their last karaoke night all too well and as much as Barry wouldn't exactly mind reliving it, it's obvious that Caitlin still hasn't gotten over her embarrassment.

"No way," she says. "I can't even sing anyway," she points out. 

Thea rolls her eyes, gesturing at herself as she says, "Neither can I. But that would just make it even more hilarious." 

Felicity nudges Barry. "What's your excuse for not wanting to do it?" There's a smirk tugging at her lips as she leans her hand on her head. "Afraid that we'll discover you really were in a high school glee club?" 

Barry scoffs and takes a drink of his coffee, trying to buy himself time to think up a plausible lie. He swallows and says, "No. I just haven't sung in years and I'm not great at it. I wouldn't want to put you guys through the torture of having to listen to me." 

Cisco tilts his head, eyes narrowing. "Really? Then, please explain to me why Caitlin said you two had a night out and you were an amazing singer?" 

"Because - well, you know - I - we-" Barry stops, cutting himself short as he knows he isn't getting out of this. He sighs and slumps in his seat. "You guys are gonna make us do this, aren't you?" 

\----------------------

Two hours later and Barry's actually kind of glad that his friends convinced him to agree to karaoke night. It's really not as bad as he was expecting and so far, he's got laugh as Thea and Caitlin got up on the stage and began to belt out some song that he's positive neither of them even knew the words to. Not that it mattered; they were half-drunk and laughing way too much to even get the wrong words out. 

Cisco leans a little closer to Barry, keeping his voice down and his eyes on the girls on the stage. "See? This isn't so bad." 

And Barry does have to agree with him. This really isn't all that bad. 

"Go on, Barry!" Felicity says with a grin, pushing his shoulder. "It's your turn. Let's see if you're really as bad as you claim to be." 

Barry is about to protest, say that maybe Cisco should go first. Or even Oliver. Although, one glance at him and he immediately decides not to go down that road. Instead, he stands, much to the excitement of most of his friends. 

"Alright, alright, I'm going," he says, hands in front of him as he spins around and walks backwards towards the stage. "But you guys are gonna regret this when I get up there." 

He receives many eye-rolls in return. The next thing he knows, he's getting up on the stage, microphone in hand as a song starts blasting out of the speakers. He barely even has to look at the lyrics as he begins to sing, knowing each and every word. 

Barry does his best to avoid looking at any of his friends for the first ten seconds and then he just can't help. His eyes drift over to their table and a grin is on his face within seconds. They're all either completely speechless or cheering far louder than anyone else in the entire bar. It's not even surprising that Cisco and Thea are the most enthusiastic. 

But then he happens to glance at the other side of the bar. Just three tables away from where his friends are sitting is a group of obviously confused, mildly angry and partially amazed people. And, of course, he recognises every single one of them. And they clearly recognise him as well. 

Thankfully, the song comes to an end rather quickly. Barry practically flies off of the stage and back to his friends, trying so hard to avoid any sort of confrontation with the other group. 

He sits back down in his seat in between Thea and Oliver as all of his friends tell him how great his performance was. Meanwhile, he's keeping his head, his eyes darting around the room. It doesn't do much good though. 

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Sebastian, the criminal chipmunk." 

Barry closes his eyes for a second at the sound of Santana's voice. Why is this happening? He looks up, meeting her gaze and offering her a weak smile. He's about to blow his cover with his friends but there's really not much he can't do about that at this point. 

"Santana," he says, trying to at least sound polite. 

She rolls her eyes, her arms crossed over her chest as she glances over her shoulder. He follows her line of sight to where the rest of the group are making their way towards them, some lingering behind in the hopes of not getting involved, which he is immensely grateful for. 

"Hold on, who the hell is Sebastian?" Felicity asks, looking from Barry to Santana in confusion. Then it seems to click. "Oh my god it was you in those videos!" 

"Wait, that was genuinely you?" Thea asks, her eyes wide. 

Oliver is the only one who seems to have absolutely no idea what's going on. 

Blaine comes up next to Santana, sending Barry and apologetic smile. "Santana, come on. Sit back down. We're here to relax, remember?" 

Santana looks at him like he's crazy and gestures to Barry, trying not to meet any of his friends' gazes. "How the hell am I supposed to relax when this meerkat is over here? Better make sure he doesn't have any slushies on him. Wouldn't want you to have to get surgery on your other eye, now would we?" 

"I said I was sorry about that," Barry snaps. He doesn't want to get into an argument with her or any of them, but he's also not just going to ignore her until she goes away. That never works with Santana. He looks at Blaine, "you forgave me. You even asked me to help you propose to Kurt." 

Blaine's eyes widen and he nods a little frantically. "No, no, no, I know! I don't blame you." He looks at Santana, gritting his teeth a little. "But apparently I'm the only one who doesn't hold a grudge." 

"Hold on a second." Iris turns in her seat, her eyebrows drawing together. "Barry, what's going on here?" 

"Barry?" Santana repeats, a grin on her lips. "You changed your name? What, were you that ashamed of yourself?" 

"Alright, lady, chill out for a second, will ya?" Cisco tells her and receives an insulted glare. He ignores her though. 

"Guys, can we have this conversation later?" Barry asks, directing it at his friends. 

"Oh, don't you want your new friends to know about the things you've done?" Santana smirks, clearly getting ready to fill them in on every single little detail.

Blaine, however, stops her before she can. "Alright, come on." He begins dragging her away by her arm, ignoring her protests as she starts shouting at Barry, saying he'll regret every showing his face around her again. 

As soon as she's sitting back down at her table, Blaine and few of the other with them keeping her from getting up again, Barry drops his head onto the table. He doesn't say anything, just groans. Thea pats his back sympathetically. 

 "So, maybe Karaoke wasn't the best idea..." Felicity says and Barry doesn't even have to be looking to know that nearly all  of their friends are wearing similar expressions that definitely say, "oh, you think?"


End file.
